T
he soundtrack to the documentary film released after Keith Moon’s death, at the time of its release seen as an epilogue to the band’s brilliant career. Of course, we now know that The Who lived to play another day, so the original enthusiasm for this compilation of legendary live performances and (presumably) alternate recordings has since waned, relegated today to the same dusty ranks as Odds and Sods or Who’s Missing. In other words, just the sort of thing critics warn you about when they say an album is best appreciated by collectors. Making matters worst, the MCA CD reissue is miserably packaged: no annotation of original sources, no history behind the recordings. Honestly, MCA had a terrible track record for packaging until the mid ‘90s Who remasters (remember all those crappy Steely Dan reissues?). The recording quality is all right, though some tracks like the live versions of “I Can’t Explain” and “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” are unsalvageable. For me, the best part of The Kids Are Alright is the middle: “Magic Bus,” “Long Live Rock” (which was released as a single from this compilation) and the live “Young Man (Blues)” never fail to please. Yet Live At Leeds remains the definitive live document from the band, Odds and Sods the preferred archival issue. The scattershot approach of The Kids Are Alright simply makes for rough sailing; some of the performances are lightning in a bottle (“My Generation,” “Won't Get Fooled Again”) while others are faded curios. In between these are what sound to be live-in-the-studio performances that match the originals: “Long Live Rock,” “Happy Jack” and “Tommy, Can You Hear Me?” among them. Who fans may wish to fill the holes in with The Kids Are Alright (if they haven’t already), but anyone expecting a chest full of treasured keepsakes is kidding themselves.